Anniversary in Yaroslavl (06.2011)

It was supposed to be Europe for our 20th anniversary, but not knowing if Susan might need another surgery on her thumb, we decided to conserve our resources and headed north for a four day weekend. We spent two nights in the village of Vyatskoe as guests of Oleg Zharov who's made it his mission to revitalize and restore this town of one thousand residents, followed by two nights in the region's capital, Yaroslavl - a 1001 year old city on the Volga River in what's known as Russia's Golden Ring. It took us more than seven hours to drive the 150 miles north thanks to Moscow's infamous traffic jams and mediocre to poor roads, and once there we encountered heat, humidity and monster mosquitoes, but it's about togetherness... right?

The restaurant's bathroom has doors like an elevator (the hotel does not have a real elevator). You push the buttons to open or close them. Similar doors close off the hotel's stairwell at night. Fun gimmick.